The chair of the Roseland Golf and Curling Club Board says he wants to see curling continue in the city, but where it's played is the question.
Gary Kaschak, ward 8 city councillor and chair of the club Board, is reacting to the news that the clubhouse facility may be torn down by the City of Windsor.
The Future of Curling Windsor-Essex, a committee representing seven curling leagues at Roseland, is worried the teardown may occur, and have launched a petition to save the club.
The committee wants to be included in any planning about the future of curling in Windsor.
Kaschak says the Board met with the curling group on March 22 at Roseland to go over options for the clubhouse, the public report with recommendations for the space was sent out on March 24, which Kaschak says he forwarded to the all members of the curling committee.
He says the report is very robust.
"It talks about options here moving forward and it talks about public consultation that Ray Mansour, our commissioner of Parks and Services had discussed. And I think everybody is going to have a say, and I think at the end of the day curling is going to be provided in Windsor, at what location to be determined."
Kaschak says as of right now the fate of Roseland is up to city council.
"If council decides they want to keep Roseland as it is in place with a little bit of renovation, that's a possibility. If council decides to tear down the whole Roseland facility and then just build and golf clubhouse and a separate curling facility, that's a possibility. The other possibility that council would decide to tear down the entire clubhouse and only keep golf there, but then move curling to one of the surplus ice pads."
He says public consultation will include everyone in the city, not just those who curl.
"I would hope by the fall we would have a decision as to what we're going to do moving forward. And I see no interruptions to the curling season this year, they'll either curl, potentially at Roseland, or if things happen fast we'll get them into one of the surplus ice pads and make it a proper curling facility."
City council approved $4.3-million in funding in the 2021 budget to renovate or replace the clubhouse at the city-owned facility.
During 2023 budget deliberations, city administration stated that they will conduct public consultation and a survey to ask the public what they envision curling to look like at a potential alternate ice pad.
Administration also stated that curling would only be re-shifted if needed and would not be permanently leaving.
Roseland Golf and Curling Club is located at 455 Kennedy Drive West.
-with files from AM800's Rob Hindi